Callus induction and plant regeneration from embryonic axes of Kosteletzkya virginica

Kosteletzkya virginica, a perennial dicot halophytic species of the Malvaceae, is native to American salt marsh. It was introduced into China as a potential species to improve coastal wetlands and to develop ecologically sound saline agriculture. K. virginica adapts excellently to the tidal-flat habitats in China's east coast, with multiple eco-benefits; in particular, its seed oil could be used to produce biodiesel. The purpose of this study was thus to develop a standardized protocol to induce a high frequency of callus and subsequent plantlet regeneration system for a K. virginica breeding program with the final objective of applying transgenic techniques to improve seed oil yield. The embryonic axes of K. virginica were used as explants for callus induction, shoot induction from the callus and then adventitious root induction from the shoots on nine culture media with different hormone combinations. The best results were achieved on the following media: (1) 93.94% callus induction on MS medium supplemented with 1.0 mg L−1 indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), 0.3 mg L−1 kinetin, 30 g L−1 sucrose and 8 g L−1 agar; (2) 65.83% shoot induction on 1/2MS medium supplemented with 0.1 mg L−1 IAA, 0.5 mg L−1 zeatin, 30 g L−1 sucrose and 8 g L−1 agar; (3) 96.67% rooting on MS medium containing 30 g L−1 sucrose and 8 g L−1 agar. The survival rate of plantlets by organogenic regeneration was 85% after being transplanted into potting soil in flowerpots and placed in the greenhouse. This experiment indicates that we established successful callus induction and plant regeneration protocols for K. virginica.